Dakar: Eduard Weidl - Volkswagen Motorsport interview

Three questions to Eduard Weidl, Technical Director of Volkswagen Motorsport
What type of work was done on the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 on rest day?
"According to schedule, we changed the gearboxes, differentials, drive
shafts, turbochargers...

Three questions to Eduard Weidl, Technical Director of Volkswagen Motorsport

What type of work was done on the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 on rest day?

"According to schedule, we changed the gearboxes, differentials, drive
shafts, turbochargers and numerous smaller wearing parts such as brake
linings, brake discs and hose connections as well as several electrical
components. Before the rally, we established an exact schedule for these
service jobs and did not have to perform any additional work."

How long did it take the team to do this work on rest day?

"A total of 24 hours, in other words from Friday afternoon to Saturday
afternoon. The different types of jobs were divided among all the team
members, ensuring that everyone got their necessary period of rest. On
Saturday afternoon we took all the Race Touareg prototypes out for short
test drives. All of them were running perfectly."

The day of rest is followed immediately by the marathon stage. How has the
team prepared for the two legs without regular service as far as the
technical side is concerned?

"It was important to plan the intervals for changing component such that as
few scheduled maintenance as possible needed to be done on the marathon day.
Apart from refuelling, changing tyres and performing a check there's nothing
to be done -- unless something unusual happens on the leg. We discussed all
the tasks precisely with the vehicle engineers and discussed the detailed
work with the three race truck crews as well. We have covered all functions
in the race trucks two-fold in the event that one of the trucks should not
arrive in Tichit on time."